


Side-by-Side

by softkent (SalazarTipton)



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bodyswap, Light Angst, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Timers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-29
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2019-05-30 03:43:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15088262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SalazarTipton/pseuds/softkent
Summary: With Swoops' Switch Day tomorrow, neither he nor Kent can seem to get their shit together.





	Side-by-Side

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lizaster (DingoesAteMyBaby)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DingoesAteMyBaby/gifts).



> Hope you like this! It was hard picking from so many parswoops ideas I wanted to do so fingers crossed this fit the bill! <3

Throwing parties for Jeff “Swoops” Troy has become a joy in Kent’s life in the years they’ve been besties, for big things, birthdays, little things like “Swoops, dude! You just got your first pair of real grown-up shoes. We gotta celebrate!” followed by a long, long sigh. Usually involving drinking, embarrassment, debating the “What Happens In Vegas” slogan and how it applies to the people living in Las Vegas, and really heartfelt moments neither of them mention ever again. Kent wants to kick Swoops’ parents for not waiting a year to have the guy. Then Kent could have another year to wrap his head around his best friend’s clock ticking down to the day he switches places with his soulmate. 

 

It’s a normal Thursday morning, for most. It just be a regular day like any other when he’s home and not out on a roadie, but Kent can’t get into his groove. He feels off kilter like he’s living a Monday while everyone else’s calendar is set to Thursday. It feels bogus is what it feels like, okay? He’s annoyed and half pissed at himself. Jeff’s Switch Day being tomorrow shouldn’t be throwing him off so much, but Kent can’t seem to help himself.  He should be celebrating with Jeff about his impending Switch. Kent should be happy for him. Instead he wants to crawl back into bed. 

 

Now, not everyone freaks over Switch Days; half the people Kent sees on the daily don’t give a fuck about them and what they mean. Kent’s wishing he was one of them. Given witnessing his parents’ horrible bond he  _ should  _ hate soulmates, but really he just wants his own fairytale ending--something to convince him on a cosmic level that the universe doesn’t have it out for him, that maybe someone can actually love him… It’s too bad he’s one of the people without a timer ticking down on his wrist. He’s one of the poor souls that has to wait for their soulmate’s Switch Day to swap places out of the blue. 

 

Aside from his hangups, he can’t help but want that special connection and bond for himself and the important people in his life, Jeff included. What’s been freaking Kent out for the past month leading up to tomorrow is realizing Kent doesn’t just want anyone to be his soulmate (or even Jack, having finally forgotten where he left the hatchet, let alone bury it); he wants it to be Jeff. 

 

“Do you think it would be unfair of me to fake the flu just so I can avoid people tomorrow? The team would do fine without me,” Kent asks Kit. She stares at him. “I know, with Swoops out we can’t afford someone else gone, let alone me.”

 

He climbs over the back of the sofa and nestles between the cushions and Kit, who’s trying to clean herself and now look disgruntled. She glares at him with her ears back for a moment, then licks at her paw. She’s never been a very considerate listener. 

 

Kent pets her, focusing on the soft feeling of her fur between his fingers to get himself together. Today is Thursday and no matter how much he wants to wallow and ignore tomorrow coming, he has a game to get ready for. 

 

* * *

 

“You ready for tomorrow?” Scrappy asks, elbowing Swoops under the pads as they get dressed for morning skate. 

 

“Shouldn’t you be thinking about the game tonight, Scraps? Last I knew, the Schooners left winger was gunning for you. Seems a little more relevant,” he bites back. 

 

Swoops knows he should have expected all the jeers and comments from the guys. It’s not like he’s ever hidden the timer ticking away on the delicate skin over the veins on his wrist, and even if he did, he’s scratched for tomorrow because of the Switch. There’s no keeping these kinda secrets from the team. He should be thankful that the media won’t hear about it until the pregame media sessions tomorrow, but he still wishes he could have a private life for once. 

 

Maybe he wouldn’t be so tense if Kent hasn’t been acting so weird around him for the last month or so. Kent’s his best friend. A lot of guys on the Aces have even joked that they’re practically married because they do everything together (not unheard of in hockey bromances, mind you). All those jokes and jeers rolled right off of Kent; he’d comment back that at least he was getting some pulling even more laughs from the room. 

 

Jeff, on the other hand, couldn’t shake the image of Kent with a ring on his finger, snuggled up on the couch with Kit waiting on him to bring him a snack. No matter how many times Swoops’ birated himself for the fantasies, he couldn’t keep them from coming. Maybe that’s just what you have to deal with when you fall in love with your best friend. 

 

* * *

 

Stepping out onto the ice has a different feel than normal. Kent always feels at home, proud stepping out onto the Aces’ home turf. Something in the air feels off. He turns to Swoops and realizes what’s wrong. 

 

Jeff’s always made fun of the signs made for Kent, which are usually explicit. He takes it in stride and even takes selfies with some of them for the laughs. Truthfully, Jeff’s always appreciated Kent loving the limelight so much because then the focus stayed on him instead of Jeff. 

 

_ Wake up in my bed, Troy! I’ll be your Switch ;) _ and twenty, just as cringe-worthy, signs are scattered about the home crowd. Looks like the news broke a day earlier than anticipated. 

 

Swoops looks ready to vomit as he scans the crowd. Kent skates up to him, slapping a hand on his shoulder and giving him a little shake. He’s grateful when Swoops’ thousand-yard-stare turns towards Kent and away from the crowd.

 

“We’ve got this, man. Side-by-side, like always,” he holds out a glove, hoping. “All that matters is the ice and us, okay?”

 

He gives Kent a faint smile and nod at their slogan. He gives Kent’s glove a tap with his own. 

 

“Side-by-side. Let’s kick some ass,” Swoops says with a little color returning to his face.  

 

* * *

 

“Sorry I didn’t put together some big thing for you tonight. Figured it might make tomorrow a little weird, ya know?” Kent admits with his head bent over his bottle. “Your goal deserve a big celly after all this is...you know. I’m thinking body shots and glitter and somehow including a giant rubber duck.” They both laugh, devolving into giggles as their drinks kick in. 

 

After they compose themselves, Swoops nudges him with his foot. Kent gives him a low hum, sipping from his bottle. 

 

“Dude, all I ever need is just time with you. Doesn’t matter what we do,” Swoops replies. 

 

* * *

 

Swoops slowly reaches out for the bed (and with a little help from Kent) manages to get out of his jeans and under the covers. His smile is goofy and blinding. Jeff hasn’t worn that smile in a long time. Kent thinks back and the last time might have been on Kent’s birthday when he was throwing him in the pool against his will. 

 

“No matter what happens tomorrow, we aren’t gonna change. You know that, right?”

 

Kent steals a glance over at him. Of course he doesn’t think anything’s going to change. Friends are still friends when one of them gets into a relationship. He’s supposed to be here, supporting Swoops and his new soulmate, not pining over the guy. He nods a little too fast for his floaty head. Maybe the shots were a bad idea…

 

“Yeah,” he forces out past his tight throat. “Tomorrow you’ll wake up somewhere new and have a great day. I’ll take care of your soulmate and make sure she doesn’t cause any media problems or set your apartment on fire.”

 

Swoops frowns at him and tosses the blankets aside. 

 

“Maybe I should just head back to my place. You don’t need to--” Kent stops him, tucking him back in. 

 

“Dude, it’s chill. Just get some sleep. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. If you can’t remember my number, just DM me on Twitter or something,” Kent says, heading out the door before Swoops can interject. “Goodnight.”

 

When the door clicks shut behind Kent, Swoops rolls over and blinks back his emotions. He focuses on the familiar timer on his wrist in scratchy, nearly-italic handwriting ticking down. His Switch Day is just an hour away and all he can think about is what would happen if he followed Kent down the hall to his room. 

 

* * *

 

Kent turns over as he drifts out of sleep to readjust so his arm won’t fall asleep. He reaches out, seeking out Kit in her usually spot, but it feels wrong. He peeks through one eye. Everything is wrong. He’s not on his side of the bed, laying on his soft sheets with his overstuffed pillows; he’s in the guest room. 

 

Panic floods through him for a second, wondering if somehow he ended up in bed with Jeff at the worst time possible. He turns over without breathing, scared he’ll find Swoops beside him or worse, wake him up. The truth is an option Kent hasn’t even processed. He’s alone in the bed, the other side of the queen looking untouched. 

 

He scrambled out from beneath the blanket, bolting for the bedroom door and down the hall to his own room. His feet come to a standstill once he’s within reach of the doorknob. Waiting to see won’t change his reality, but he can’t manage to get himself to move. If Swoops is in there...and he’s him or however you want to put it? Kent can’t even let himself think of the outcome--of the possibility that they could be--

 

Lifting up his hand as slowly as he can manage, the angle doesn’t look right. Kent’s farther away from the knob that usual. His hand is tanner than it should be, even in the dark hallway. He gulps. The timer on his wrist is blinking zero. 

 

Someone is in Kent’s bed on Kent’s side with their head nearly tucked under the covers. Just a tuft of blond, unruly hair is visible. He can’t seem to get enough air in his lungs for a second. The person in the bed shifts and mumbles something. They realize he’s there. 

 

Kent sits up in the bed. The Real Kent by the door is convinced he’s still dreaming. 

 

“What? What’s going on?” The guy rubs the sleep from his eyes and blinks. “Why’s everything so fuzzy?”

 

Kent takes pity on him, willing his feet to move to the nightstand and hands the guy Kent’s glasses. He slips them on and looks up at Kent. Both their eyes start watering. 

 

“Are you--” Swoops starts, not sure where to end his question, but his eyes are saying it all. Can this be real? Are we dreaming still? 

 

“Yeah. Move over. Your on my side,” Kent says. 

 

He climbs in next to Swoops, helping him move Kit from her usual spot on the other pillow. She’s too sleepy to care she’s being moved to the foot of the bed. Kent pets her as an apology and she starts purring. He settles down, swallowing the awkwardness down. He’d been so focused on losing Jeff he never even considered the opposite happening. If anyone’s proven they can love him no matter what, it’s him. He lets out a small, wet laugh. 

 

“You okay?” Swoops asks. He rolls over on his side to look at him. 

 

“Yeah. It’s just--” he sighs. “Side-by-side, ya know?”

 

Swoops grins at him and gives him a little punch. “Always, dude.”

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reeeeading! <3 Please let me know what you think in the comments. It means a ton. :)


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